Advanced power electronic designs, especially those of aircraft generating systems, are currently challenged to meet more stringent design requirements, lower cost constraints and higher quality standards. In particular, variable speed constant frequency (VSCF) electrical generating systems must be designed to survive short-term thermal overload conditions and consistently improve their reliability, by controlling the temperatures which high power electronic components reach during operation through liquid cooling.
Thermal management of electronic components via liquid cooling and finned structures has been addressed in the art, as in a patent to Nakamichi, U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,787. Nakamichi discloses a radiator comprising a radiating block including a hollow air path through which cooling air flows, outer cooling faces on which a plurality of heated bodies to be cooled are mounted, and a plurality of cooling fins disposed within the hollow air path so as to engage inner faces of the radiating block wherein the cross-sectional cooling areas vary along the air flow path. While the cooling areas vary along the air flow path in the reference, Nakamichi discloses equalizing the heat transfer rate over the faces to be cooled. Nakamichi does not teach varying the heat transfer rate over a member at selected locations having high and low power electronic components mounted thereon to achieve a venturi effect and allow for the selective placement of high and low power electronic components on the member.
The present invention is directed to achieving the above-referenced objectives.